With Scott's signature, red-light camera rules to change

The new law, which takes effect July 1, keeps drivers from being cited for a right turn violation if they stop, even if it is beyond the stop line.

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER

Florida drivers will no longer face tickets at intersections with red-light cameras if they come to a complete stop before making a right-hand turn.

That is one of several changes to the growing use of red-light cameras by Florida cities and counties — including Sarasota, Bradenton and Manatee County — that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law (HB 7125) on Wednesday.

The new law, which takes effect July 1, precludes motorists from being cited for a right turn violation if they stop, even if it is beyond the stop line.

Another provision will increase the time motorists have to deal with the initial notice of violation from 30 days to 60 days. After that time, the violation becomes a more formal uniform traffic citation (UTC), carrying higher penalties, including a $264 fine as opposed to the initial $158 fine.

Scott signed the bill without comment late Wednesday afternoon. The red-light camera measurers were part of a 226-page highway safety bill that included revamping laws that deal with ignition-interlock devices issued to some people convicted of drunken driving and approving new specialty license plates. Among the groups that would receive plates are the American Legion, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Lauren’s Kids, a program aimed at preventing sexual abuse of children.

Scott also acted on other bills, signing a measure (HB 347) that would allow about 20 small craft distillers in Florida that annually produce less than 75,000 gallons of spirits to offer on-site sales. The bill imposes a two-bottle-per-customer annual cap for the purchases.

But Scott vetoed three bills, including one designed to change laws dealing with the competency of mentally ill people charged with crimes, another to eliminate recording requirements for closed meetings of the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee and a property-tax exemption on certain housing for active-duty military members.

Advocates said the longer notice period included in the red-light camera regulation will help rental car drivers, who under the current law often face the higher penalty of a UTC because they do not get the notice in time.

A more controversial provision will require the cities and counties to create an administrative appeals process for motorists who contest the initial red-light camera violations. Local governments could use their existing code enforcement board or appoint magistrates to handle the cases, according to an analysis of the legislation.

But critics of the legislation, including the National Motorists Association, an advocacy group that has opposed the cameras, questioned the impartiality of using local-government hearing officers and noted the law allows the governments to add up to $250 in administrative costs — potentially upping the $158 fine to $405.

The group also questioned whether the use of the new local-government hearing process would limit the legal rights of motorists.

Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, a critic of red-light cameras who added the new provisions to a sweeping highway safety bill in the final days of the 2013 session, defended the use of the local-government appeals process.

He said it was no different than citizens appealing other cases, such as code violations, before a local board. Brandes also said the $250 in administrative costs was put into the measure as a cap and he expects the actual costs to range between $40 and $100 for each case.

As for legal rights, Brandes said motorists still have the option of letting the 60-day period lapse and then fight the violation in a formal court proceeding.

The new law does not go as far as some lawmakers, including Brandes, had hoped. Lawmakers had filed bills to abolish the cameras and others sought stricter regulation on the timing of yellow lights at the intersections with the cameras.

Brandes said he is asking Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, to let the Senate continue to pursue the issue with the potential of making further changes in the use of the cameras.

However, changing the system will have to be balanced against the fact that more than 70 Florida cities and counties are using the devices, bringing in about $46 million in the last full budget year.

Safety advocates say the cameras save lives and point to a December report from the Florida Highway Patrol that showed accidents were down in many of the communities that deploy the red-light cameras.

Florida’s red-light camera law is named after Mark Wandall, a Manatee County man whose wife fought for years to pass the law in 2010 after her husband was killed when a motorist ran a traffic light.